The picture above is Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, a portrait of a mysterious woman, is arguably the world's most recognizable painting. The painting exemplifies Leonardo's subtle use of light and shadow to create an exquisite softness and realism in human flesh. Many critics have longed wonder if she was ever smiling in the picture. Leonardo da Vinci was the ultimate Renaissance man, for he was much more than just an artist. Leonardo possessed an interest and talents in virtually every human endeavor. His areas of study ranged from nature to music to math to anatomy to engineering to botany to the arts. Leonardo studied everything and kept notebooks carefully filled with his ideas, sketches, and diagrams. He was an inventor, designing new military defenses and plans for a flying machine and submarine. He conducted scientific experiments, dissected human corpses, and tried various painting techniques.
The picture above is of a statue, which the statures name is David. Donatello created the sculpture "David." Donatello's David resonates with political meaning. David came to symbolize the Florentine Republic, in conflict with more powerful enemies, yet still favored by God. Donatello worked mainly as a sculptor. Donatello sculpted the first free-standing nude since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome. The statue, David, depicts and adolescent David with the severed head of his Biblical foe, Goliath, lying at his feet. The statue is realistic and automatically accurate, a general characteristic of most Renaissance art. David is also modeled after the Ancient Greek and Roman statues, a revival the classical past.
The artist Brunelleschi was chosen to design the Duomo (dome) for the Cathedral of Florence. This magnificent creation continues to dominate the Florence skyline and attract visitors from around the world. Brunelleschi won the commission to design and build the dome on Florence's central Cathedral or Duomo (Santa Maria Del Fiore). For years the Duomo had a large hole in the top of it because none of the architectural techniques of the day could handle this huge project. Brunelleschi's design which involved building two domes on top of each other, was not only successful, but can be described only as architectural genius. Today, his dome dominates the skyline of Florence and is still one of the largest free-standing domes in the world.
The picture above is called "The Gift of the Mantle." The artist Gitto was one of the first artists to venture into the field of Frisco painting. Gitto was called '"the father of Renaissance Painting." Many people where amazed upon seeing the new Renaissance Art. It was innovative in its design and controversial in its subjects. The city of Florence became the center of one of the most concentrated and productive periods in the history of arts. The most significant innovation in painting during the Renaissance was the use of Linear Perspective. Giotto was one of the first artist to paint with a sensible sense of depth, even though his works did not employ the system of linear perspective. Giotto was also a pioneer on the field of fresco painting. Fresco's are works that are painted onto wet plaster, which then hardens. A new energy and excitement grew as artists and city-states competed against one another to see who could produce the finest works.
Mantle